The Darkness Inside
by AG-GP
Summary: How would the story have differed if Damon wasn't always getting the short end of the stick? The Vampire Diaries retold with a new character. I usually hate original character stories, so no hard feelings if this isn't your thing.
1. Prologue

**AN: **So I really shouldn't be starting another story when my last one has been sitting in limbo for months, but this has been bugging me since the end of the second season and I figured it was bout time it got out. If I get no response on this then maybe I won't feel the need to continue, but we'll see.

So basically I got tired of watching Damon get the raw end of the deal over and over, so this is how I remedy that in my own head. It starts right in the middle of the conversation Damon and Elena have when they first meet. Reviews are more than welcome, thanks!

* * *

Prologue

"That's not true, you want what everyone wants."

"What? Mysterious stranger who has all the answers." Elena asked with a hint of snark. She couldn't believe she was actually standing out here in the dark talking about her love life with a man she just met.

"Well, let's just say I've been around a long time, I've learned a few things." He said squinting at her.

"So, Damon, tell me, what is it that I want?"

Stepping into her personal space he tilts his head down to her and replies in all sincerity, "You want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little danger." She's captivated by him, by the truth of his words, it takes a second for her to pull herself together enough to continue the banter.

"So what do you want?" But before he can answer they're distracted by the sound of jogging footsteps not far from where they stand. As they look toward the sound a girl around Elena's age emerges from around the bend in the road.

"Elena, there you are, Matt said you took off this way. I'm about to head out, did you want a ride?" She asks coming to a stop next to Elena. Intrigued, though slightly annoyed at the interruption, Damon gives her a slow once over from head to toe and back again. Gray canvas boots, tops folded down, black matchstick jeans, white see-through lace shirt over a plain white camisole, and a cropped black leather jacket, her hair twisted up into a messy bun held together with two polished sticks. By the look of her, she was someone he could have a little fun with before he drained her. But when his eyes finally travel back to her face he realizes that, though she was speaking to Elena, her coal-rimmed, honey brown eyes were watching him. And something in them seemed to speak of kindred spirits - if Damon were to believe in nonsense like that. "Sorry," she said after a moment, looking between Damon and Elena, "am I interrupting something?"

"No," Elena was all smiles and quick to reassure her, "we were just talking. And, no, I don't need a ride, Mom and Dad are on -" a car horn had her stopping short and turning to look behind her. "Thats them now. I should go." she said apologetically turning back to the others.

"To answer your question," Damon said, stopping Elena before she could fully turn away and regaining her attention. "I want you to get everything you're looking for, but right now I want you to forget this happened. Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet. Good night, Elena." The car horn sounded again and, dazedly, Elena turned and walked away.

Once she was safely out of ear shot Damon turned back to the other girl still standing there, fully expecting her to be confused and quite possibly frightened. But to his surprise, he found her smirking at him.

"You can put the crazy eyes away now, that won't work on me." She said shaking her head slightly.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He feigned bewilderment. The look he received in response was anything but believing. "But let's say I did know what you meant, why, exactly would my charms not work on you?"

"Well, I could tell you its because I know better than to let a pretty face fool me, but we both know you're more than that." She said, tilting her head to the side, crossing her arms over her chest and popping a hip out. He gave her a low chuckle in response.

"That is very true."

"But," she sighed, "the truth is I've got vervain on me." That caught his attention, and had him straightening up from the slouch he had adopted to feign casualty.

"Hypothetically speaking," he grounded out, "if I had any interest in such herbs, I would tell you that it is impossible for you to have any at this moment. Vervain hasn't grown here in over a hundred years." But now that she had mentioned it, he could just barely make out the scent of it on her. It was excruciatingly faint, but it was there, and it was enough to inhibit his compulsion.

"I should probably introduce myself. I'm Charlotte. Charlotte Giblert-Forbes," She was doing her best to keep her excitement in check, but she couldn't believe she was actually face to face with him. "but everyone calls me Charlie. And, if I'm not mistaken, you're Damon Salvatore." Surprise flittered across his features for a split second before he regained control, but it was long enough to for Charlie to notice.

"You look a little young to be on the Founder's Council. Vervain or no vervain, I could still kill you where you stand." To be fair, the only reason he hadn't killed her the moment Elena walked away was because something in her eyes had struck him as familiar. The fact that she inexplicably seemed to know not only what, but who he was just bought her another few minutes to live.

"Oh, I'm not on the council, they have no idea I know the real history of this place. But, Gilbert-Forbes," she said, pointing a finger at herself, "I have access to an unbelievable number of journals from two founding families and plus a few heirlooms I inherited, including the vervain."

"Again, I'm not killing you because...?" His patience was wearing thin. He had come out here to feed, how had he gotten drug into this inane conversation with the poster child for the Mystic Falls Incest Association?

"Because I'm not like the rest of this closed minded little town, and whatever your reasons for coming back here, I can help." He was taken aback at her offer, that much was obvious, Gilberts were notorious vampire haters after all. But Charlie was counting it as a win that she was still standing in front of him, instead of dead on the side of the road.

Damon took a slow step toward her, but before he could respond they were interrupted by shouts coming from beyond the trees where the party was still taking place. "Charlie!" a whiney female voice floated to them. "Charlotte Forbes, if you left me here I'm telling Mom!"

"Insufferable," Charlie muttered hanging her head. When she looked up again he was in her personal space and smirking at her. "Listen, I can explain everything; why I know who you are, how I can be of use, why you shouldn't kill me and get on with your life. But do you mind if we do it somewhere else, I really need to get out of here before she drunkenly stumbles her way out here and finds me."

"Sister?" he asked with what seemed genuine curiosity.

"Obnoxious cousin," she grumbled, and then under breath, "who can find her own way home." She closed her eyes for a second and Damon could literally see her shake off her annoyance. "There's a bar not far from here, a run down place on the outskirts of town, full of people no one would miss. If you follow me there I'll explain everything and then you can decide whether I get to live or not."

"Fair enough." She was attractive enough, he could use her for information and a little entertainment then dispose of her later.


	2. The Night of the Comet

**AN:** This picks up during the second episode of the first season. Eventually we'll find out what Charlie told Damon to get him to keep her alive. Enjoy

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Setting the box of candles down on an unoccupied bench, Charlie turned and swept the square with her eyes quickly to make sure Carol Lockwood wasn't lurking before she cut across the street and headed for the Grill. These town functions were always a pain - especially when being from two founding families meant more was expected from you. Charlie barely had time to breathe these days, let alone pass out candles for the mayor's vapid wife.

Stepping into the Grill, she took a second to shake off her frustration before making a bee line for the bar, passing a table full of Elena and her friends on the way. "Yo, Forbes!" Tyler called after her as she passed. She threw a hand over her shoulder in acknowledgement, but continued on her way. Reaching the bar, she stopped next to a familiar head of tousled black hair and dropped onto an empty stool.

"I thought you weren't going to be here." Damon said without looking up from his glass.

"I thought you weren't showing your face in public yet." She eyed him for a moment, then turned and slapped the flat of her hand against the bar top twice before calling "Bobby!" down the length of the bar to catch the bartender's attention. Once he had nodded in her direction she turned back to Damon. "I didn't plan on being here, but I kept running into a mental block at the library and I was hungry. I would have been in and out by now, but Carol Lockwood cornered me in the square."

"The library, huh. That's...amusing," he all but slurred at her.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, me being in high school is hilarious. And for the record," swiping the drink from in front of him, "I know you're not drunk." She cocked her head at him before throwing back the mouthful that was left at the bottom of the glass. He squinted and opened his mouth to respond, but snapped it closed again when the bartender walked up to them.

"Hey, Charlie, the usual?" He was a decent looking kid, tall and dark, a couple years out of high school. It was obvious he spent some time in the gym, he'd be no match for vampire strength of course, but what human was?

"Yep, but make it to go, and he needs a refill." She said, hooking her thumb in Damon's direction and sliding the empty glass across the bar. "Thanks, Bobby." She dropped him a wink as he filled the glass and set it down in front of Damon before turning and pushing into the kitchen.

"Flirting with bartenders now, what would the Sheriff say?" Damon mocked her in a scandalized tone.

"With all these animal attacks lately she doesn't really have time to care much what I do." She shrugged, looking past him over his shoulder to the table her friends were sitting at. Elena and Caroline kept looking at where she sat with Damon and then whispering to each other.

"And how's that going? The investigation?" he asked looking into his drink like it held the secrets of the universe.

"Hmm... big animal, lots of blood loss. Funny thing is, though, no animal tracks." She said curiously, then leaned into him slightly and whispered, "Maybe throwing the bodies to an actual animal afterward would make it look a little more legit."

"And how, exactly, am I supposed to get a wild animal big enough to maul a body every time I feed?" he gave her a scathing look, "Maybe you should remember that you're expendable and if you don't reign in the smart ass remarks your aunt might just find _your_ body at the site of the next 'animal attack'." The end of his threat coming out in almost a growl.

She rolled her eyes at him, of course she knew that the second she stopped being of use there was every chance that he would kill her, he was already taking a big enough leap trusting her with the truth of what he was when she couldn't be compelled. She just chose not to believe it. Besides, he always felt the need to remind her how fragile her life was after an interaction that could be mistaken for actual friendship. "Anyway," she went on, getting back on track, "as far as I can tell, they're suspicious, but they haven't officially declared it anything other than an unusual animal attack. One more body will probably push it over the line though." She gave him a serious look, but turned away when a bag was set down in front of her. "Thanks, Bobby." She nodded at the man behind the bar before grabbing the back and sliding off her stool. She put a hand on Damon's shoulder and leaned in slightly, "if I find out anything else I'll let you know." She slipped past him and down the steps at the end of the bar before he could respond.

Charlie slowed as she approached the table her friends were occupying. It was clear Elena had something to say, but before she had a chance Charlie's phone went off "_The world is a vampire_". Recognizing the text message tone, she rolled her eyes and pulled it from her pocket.

_I expect an update tomorrow_

Spinning around she found Damon staring at her from his spot at the bar. She pulled a face at him and returned her attention to the table behind her, only to find Caroline and Elena gapping at her.

"That's the mystery guy that's been texting you all summer?" Elena was incredulous, "Damon Salvatore?"

"Yeah" her response clearly said _it's not big deal, don't make it one_.

"Lucky," Caroline pouted.

"I gotta go, I've got work to do." Charlie shook her head at Caroline and walked out the door.


	3. Friday Night Bites

**AN: **Once again, I typed this up quickly, and I am without a beta, so all mistakes are mine, if I find any I'll come back and clean them up later. Enjoy, and review please, if you're feeling up to it :)

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"I saw Elena today, btw - that means by the way - she was looking very perky in her short shorts." Damon taunted his brother, wagging his eyebrows for emphasis and hopping back a step when Stefan advanced on him.

"What were you doing at the school?" Stefan all but growled.

"Charlotte needed a ride home, and being the gentleman that I am, I obliged." Damon shrugged, Stefan's face only darkened further. "Simmer down, I didn't go anywhere near Elena. I've got my own high schooler. Ooh, reminds me, I need to run, I have a date later. Sweaty palms," he teased, blowing on his palms and rubbing his hands together, "wish me luck." Laughing, he started to leave.

"What do you think you're doing with Charlie anyway," Stefan demanded, "she's not a toy for you to play with whenever you feel like it, Damon."

"No, not a toy, a tool," Damon corrected, his body, back still turned to Stefan, had tensed at the accusation, "and the best part is, she knows it. Leave it, Stefan, it's none of your business." He left the room before Stefan had the chance to respond.

Pulling his phone out he made a call once he was sure he was out of Stefan's hearing range. It rang once before she answered.

"I'm in the middle of writing a paper, this better be important." Charlie sighed into the phone, she knew she was pushing her luck giving him attitude, but she really needed to get this done, and it was good for his ego if someone other than his brother stood up to him once in a while.

"Of course its important, it's me." He was all charm and sweetness, which meant whatever he wanted was going to take a good bit of time. Charlie hit the save button and closed her laptop, her paper wasn't getting finished tonight. "We're going out tonight, I need you to make a dessert."

"Wait, what? Explain."

"Stefan is having dinner with Elena and Bonnie at the Gilbert's tonight. We're crashing, it's only polite that we bring dessert. Now get baking, I'll pick you up in an hour and a half. And wear something nice, I told Stefan it was a date and I don't do frumpy." He instructed her with an air of superiority.

"Yes, master," she mumbled sarcastically under her breath.

"That's what I like to hear." And he hung up. Charlie sighed again, climbed up off her bed and padded out to the kitchen.

* * *

Charlie was just putting the first batch of cookies in the oven when Caroline appeared in the doorway looking suspicious.

"Why are you baking?" she asked cautiously, about to stick her finger in the bowl of cookie dough when Charlie slapped her hand away.

"Kind of a long story, and not really any of your business, so keep your fingers to yourself." Charlie said, moving the remaining dough out of Caroline's reach.

"These are for Damon aren't they? I know he called you earlier, I recognized the ringtone. Should I tell Mom you're sleeping at Elena's tonight?" Caroline asked suggestively throwing out an exaggerated wink.

"It's not like that, we're just...friends." Charlie answered a bit unsure. They definitely weren't dating, that was for sure, but she wasn't sure she would really classify what they were doing as friendship either. It was more like a working relationship, for now at least. Charlie had high hopes that it would eventually turn into a friendship, it was either that, or he killed her.

"But friends with benefits right? Please tell me you're getting some of that." Caroline really didn't know when to stop. Charlie just shook her head. "Oh, come on, Charlie, why the hell not? You can't honestly tell me you don't think he's hot."

"He's gorgeous, Care, I'm not denying it," and she fully believed that, he was gorgeous, Charlie just wasn't stupid. He was here with the express purpose of breaking his 500 year old vampire girlfriend out of what was essentially Wiccan jail. She could most definitely fall for him given the chance, she just wasn't going to allow it. "It's just not like that, OK, so drop it."

"A man like that should not be without female company, if you're not going to do anything about it, maybe I will." Caroline was really pushing it now, and from the look on her face she knew it. It was like she wanted to fight, but Charlie wasn't falling for it this time.

"You wouldn't know what to do with him if he did give you the time of day. And he won't, Caroline, so stay away from him, there's nothing but heartache down that road."Charlie warned. "I'm going to get changed, don't touch the cookies."

* * *

"Why, exactly did you tell Stefan this was a date?" Charlie asked as they stood on the Gilbert's porch, Damon leaning over her shoulder to knock.

"To piss him off, of course."

"Of course," she rolled her eyes, "by the way, I over heard the Sheriff on a phone call earlier, they're talking about canceling the Founder's party because of the attacks." She hurriedly whispered as the footsteps inside got closer to the door.

"I'll take care of it," he murmured just as Elena opened the door.

"Hey, little cousin, we heard you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert." Charlie smiled at Elena.

"Hope you don't mind." Damon chimed in as Stefan walked up behind Elena looking furious.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as Charlie brushed past him into the house.

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in." Damon answered like it was obvious.

"Oh, yeah, you don't have -" Elena started to say, but Stefan cut her off.

"No, no - he can't, uh, he can't stay." Stefan stumbled over his words as he glanced quickly between Damon and Elena. "Can you, Damon?"

"Actually, we've got nothing but time, Stefan." Charlie answered for him standing in the background, a smirk on her face, watching the panic slowly creep over Stefan's features.

"We're just finishing up..." Stefan tried as a last ditch effort.

"It's fine, just come on in." Elena relented, stepping aside to let Damon step over the threshold.

"You have a lovely home Elena." Damon complimented sending a smirk Stefan's direction.

* * *

They all ended up in the living room, drinking coffee and trying not to notice the extreme tension between the Salvatore brothers.

"So, Tanner actually let you on the team?" Charlie asked Stefan surprised, "That's really out of character for him, the guy's a complete douche."

"He wasn't so bad today." Stefan admitted. "Not exactly nice, but he didn't quite hit douche level."

"You _must_ have been good, no way would he have let you on the team and not been a creep about it if you weren't," Charlie was impressed, it took a lot to get Tanner's attention in a positive way. She didn't think Stefan was the type to use his supernatural abilities to get ahead. "How was cheerleading practice, 'Lena?"

"Rough, I probably shouldn't have skipped summer camp." Elena said, a hint of melancholy in her voice.

"Don't worry, I'll work with you, you'll get it."Bonnie was quick to reassure, and quick to be ignored.

"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon observed. Elena merely shrugged in response and took a sip of her coffee.

"Her mom was a cheerleader," Charlie explained, readjusting her position on the arm of the overstuffed chair Damon was occupying. "So was mine actually, but I never had the temperament for it."

"I'm sorry, Elena," Damon said, almost sincerely. "I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." Charlie was almost surprise at how good Damon was at getting under Stefan's skin with just a few words. She watched as Stefan's face clouded over with a million different emotions, the main at the moment, though, seemed to be guarded anger. Like he wanted to me angry with Damon, but was more concerned with what he was doing here and what he had planned.

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." Was all he said in response as his his face became closed off again.

"Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry," though clearly he was anything but, "the last thing I wanted to do was bring her up." The smirk wasn't visible on his face, but it was clear in his words.

* * *

Later, when everyone was done with dessert and coffee, Damon left Charlie alone with Stefan in the living room to help Elena with the dishes. When she had asked him on the way there earlier if she was supposed to get Stefan to trust her, or to make it clear where she stood he told her to play it by ear. So who knew how this was going to go.

"She's happy, Elena, happier than I've seen her in a long time. I'm glad she finally found something - someone - to pull her out of her grief." Charlie said sincerely, "but, if she's hurt in any way, I will end you."

"Noted." Stefan nodded. "That's a really nice scarf," he said, pointing to the light weight black and white plaid scarf she had loosely wrapped around her throat.

"Thanks, it was a birthday gift from Caroline." It was so obvious where he was going with this, but she let him continue, just to see how far he would push it.

"Can I see it? I mean, would you mind taking it off?"

"No, offense, but there's no way you could pull this off." She joked.

"Come on, Charlie, just for a minute, I just want to see it." He cajoled, sliding down the couch to move closer to where she sat on the chair Damon had vacated.

"I don't feel like taking it off," she sighed heavily and fixed him with a steady look. "If you want to know something, Stefan, just ask. Don't try to trick me. It won't work. I'm already five steps ahead of you and you don't even know it." He straightened up, confused, and was about to deny whatever it was she had just accused him of when she continued. "And seriously, with the scarf thing, do you think I'm stupid? If I was going to let him feed from me, it would be in a more discreet place, I do live with the Sheriff after all."

"So that's what this is about," he muttered in understanding, "he's compelled you to spy on the council for him."

"Uh, no. He hasn't compelled me to do anything. I wear vervain at all times," she said holding up her right wrist wrapped in a black band clasped with a silver chain. On the wide bracelet was a cross, an inch and a half long and a quart of an inch deep, with a filigree cut out. On one side was a miniature hinge, making it clear that it was at one point a locket of sorts. "My choices are my own."

"Does he..." Stefan barely whispered.

"Does he know I have vervain? Of course, he's not an idiot."

"But if you know what we are, why haven't you given Elena vervain?"

"I'm given to believe that you are incredibly self-righteous and only feed on animals," Charlie sighed, shaking her head. "And this is all I have. I inherited it from my mother." The confusion on Stefan's face was almost laughable.

"But why?"

"I refuse to believe that when you turn you become some kind of demon." Charlie said carefully, "I know that's what everyone in this town believes, what my family believes, but I choose to believe that you're still mostly human in there."

"But why _Damon_?"

"That is story for another time." Charlie said looking up as Damon walked back into the room smirking. "I'm going to go see if Elena and Bonnie need help in the kitchen." And she left the brothers to fight it out in hushed whispers.


	4. Family Ties: Part 1

**AN: **Little bit of back story here, for anyone wondering why Charlie lives with Caroline and Liz. Also, her ringtone for Damon is _Revenge_ by 30 Seconds to Mars.

Leave me a review if you feel like it. Enjoy!

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"_Wreaking havoc, And yes I will have my... Revenge..._"

With a groan Charlie shut her notes in the textbook she was reading and reached over to pick up her phone from the bedside table. "Mystical Falls house of perpetual study, how may I help you?" She asked with fake cheer as she rolled onto her back, bending her knees and setting her feet flat on the bed.

"Some's feeling witty this morning," Damon snarked in her ear, "have you seen the news yet?"

"No, I've barley left my room today, what happened?" It must have been something big, Liz had been out the door at the crack of dawn, and hadn't called to check in with her or Caroline yet today.

"They caught the animal responsible for the attacks," Damon informed her; she hummed in response prompting him to continue. "Big mountain lion. But you know what that means."

"The Founder's Party isn't cancelled." Charlie groaned again. "Lovely."

"Right, so I'll be needing you to bring me as your date."

"And what if I already have a date?" she asked.

"I'd say dump him and bring me instead," Damon said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "but since I know you don't have a date, its a moot point." She made a noise in the back of her throat, half protest, half offended. "I went to a lot of trouble to make sure this party didn't get canceled, I need to be there. Besides, you owe me."

"For what, exactly?" she asked, exasperated.

"I got rid of the awful history teacher you were always complaining about."

"That's true, you have no idea how much that actually lightened my work load."

"That's why I did it, princess, just for you." He said, breaking out the charm, she could almost hear his eyes sparkle.

"You did not!" she laughed, "You did it to piss Stefan off, it had nothing to do with me."

"Well, there is that. Seriously, though, you're bringing me to this party, I'm new in town. I can't just show up on my own." He was all business again.

"Yeah, ok, pick me up around 4:30," and for once she got to hang up on him. She tossed her phone to the side and threw an arm over her eyes.

She was in the same position, doing a mental rundown of everything she had to get done between now and 4:30 tomorrow, when she heard Caroline clear her throat. Charlie looked up to see her standing in the doorway.

"You're going to the party with Damon?" she asked, almost petulantly. Charlie gave a slight nod in response. "Then who am I supposed to go with?"

"I don't know, Care. What about Bonnie? She doesn't have a date either, go with her."

"But Bonnie isn't any fun at these things." Caroline pouted.

"Not really my problem, is it?" Charlie sighed.

Caroline gave her a dirty looked and turned down the hallway back toward her room, grumbling all the way. "And change his ringtone, Charlotte, that song gives me the creeps!" she yelled before slamming her door. Charlie rolled onto stomach and buried her face in a pillow to muffle her scream of frustration. She loved Caroline like a sister, really she did, but the girl was nothing but a pain.

"You are going to be able to get me into the house, right?" Damon leaned down to murmur in her ear. They were in line to enter the Lockwood mansion. In a short, black, all over lace dress with half sleeves and black, wedge heel ankle boots, she looked more like she was going to a funeral than a party, at least in Damon's opinion. Her hair was up in a messy bun, held in place with the same polished wood sticks she was wearing when they first met.

"Of course," Charlie sighed in exasperation, it was like he had no faith in her at all. "All we have to do is catch Carol's attention, which, trust me, won't be hard. I swear she watches the door like a hawk to make sure I show up every year." And, true to her word, as soon as they were in the doorway they spotted Carol Lockwood just to the left of the entrance.

"Mrs. Lockwood," Charlie said in the most insincere voice Damon had ever heard her use.

"Charlotte, I'm so glad you could make it. You look lovely." The mayor's wife was all smiles, but her eyes were like ice.

"This is my friend, Damon." Charlie introduced them, and waited for the magic words.

"Oh, well, come on in." Damon took Charlie's elbow and led her across the threshold smirking.

"Lovely to meet you, I've been looking forward to this party for quite a while." Damon said throwing out the charm.

"Well, enjoy." Carol smiled before turning to greet another guest.

"Let's get a drink." Damon said pulling Charlie along beside him. She saw the Sheriff over her shoulder and waved quickly in her direction when she saw the shocked look on her aunt's face. She would have stopped to say hi, but Damon had told her earlier that Stefan had tried to spike his drink with vervain, and it was clear he was still seething about it.

"Look at all these familiar names - Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood. Is that Damon Salvatore? And Stefan Salvatore?" They hear Elena reading off the original Founder's Party guest registry as they walk into the room behind her and Stefan.

"The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually." Damon startled Elena, cutting in before Stefan could come up with a lame excuse as to why their names were on the registry from 145 years ago.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." Stefan was quick to try and change the subject.

"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family." Elena smiled, to the casual observer she merely looked interested in the story. But Charlie knew her cousin better than that. Elena had picked up on the fact that Stefan seemed to want to talk about anything but his family and she wasn't going to stop until she found out why. This could get ugly fast if Stefan didn't just give it up already.

"I'd agree, but I already know the story." Charlie said pointedly. She may be on Damon's side in this whole debacle, but if Elena was going to date a vampire, she deserved to know the truth, the sooner the better. And if pushing Stefan's button is what it took for him to spill his secrets then so be it.

"Aren't you supposed to be dancing?" Damon asked looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Ugh...yeah," Charlie sighed. "Elena, you wouldn't mind if I borrowed your date for a little would you? Damon refuses to dance and the sooner Carol sees me out there the sooner she'll be off my back."

"Charlotte, there you are," the mayor's wife had just appeared in the doorway behind them. "I need you out on the dance floor now."

"I'm on my way Mrs. Lockwood." She she choked out through gritted teeth. "Seriously, Stefan, please. I have to dance with the son of a Founding family to kick off the dancing, and if you say no it'll have to be Tyler... again." She gave him her best doe eyed look.

"Well, I don't really..." Stefan tried, trying to come up with a polite way to say no.

"Good enough for me." Charlie said grabbing by the arm and dragging him out the door. "Don't worry about Elena, your brother promised to be on his best behavior tonight."

"That's really not all that reassuring." Stefan mumbled.

Charlie stopped dead in her tracks and pulled Stefan to a stop with her. "Do you really think I'd leave my cousin alone with him if I thought there was any chance he would hurt her?" The look she leveled him with was deadly. "She's my family, I don't have a lot left, so I'm extra careful with those I do have." She stared him down for a second longer, and started pulling him toward the dance floor again.

Just before they reached the dance floor Stefan swiped two glasses of champagne off a passing tray. "Would you like one?" He asked holding it out to her. She took the glass from his outstretched hand, holding it up to her nose for a moment before twisting her wrist slightly and slowing pouring it on the ground.

"What did I tell you about trying to trick me, Stefan?" She asked him slightly amused at the look on his face. "Spiking his drink didn't work so you thought you'd spike mine?"

"It was worth a shot," he shrugged.

"Was it though? I've already told you he doesn't feed on me, the only thing your little stunt just did was waste vervain. Now come on, after that you definitely owe me a dance.

When Damon and Elena made it to the tent behind the Lockwood mansion Stefan and Charlotte were spinning a slow circle in the middle of the floor. They were speaking low enough that none of the other couples around them could hear what they were saying, but Damon could. Stefan must have asked her again why she was helping Damon and not running to the Founder's council screaming vampire, because she was retelling the same story she had told him the night they met. Her mother, Elena's aunt, had died only minutes after giving birth to her, and her father, Robert Forbes, Caroline's uncle, had never gotten over it. His daughter was a helpless infant, but he blamed her for his wife's death, and as Charlotte told it, he became a raging alcoholic because of it. The family did their best to make sure little Charlotte was taken care of, but as he was never actually _abusive_ they couldn't legally take her away from him. Robert eventually drank himself to death when Charlotte was 8, and she went to live with the Forbes, but in his last year Robert began to drunkenly tell his daughter about the true history of Mystic Falls. She hadn't believed him at first, thinking he was just drunk and trying to scare her, she was young, but she knew her father hated her and would take pleasure in seeing her terrified. But a few years later she found Sheriff William Forbes' journals and realized her father wasn't lying after all. On Charlotte's sixteenth birthday her uncle Grayson gave her a small wooden jewelry box and a sealed letter from her mother.

It seems Charlotte's mother was what the Founder's would have called a 'sympathizer'. Though she had never met an actual vampire herself, she had a hard time believing they were all evil. If there is both good and bad in humans then why not in vampires? Knowing that her daughter wouldn't be told the truth until she was grown, and even then maybe not, she wrote down everything she wanted Charlotte to know, the truth, as unbiased as she could make it, and then sealed it in an envelope. According to Charlotte the letter laid out in detail where the Gilbert journals were hidden and explained the truth of the town was written in them. It also that the cross locket in the wooden jewelry box she had been given. It was filled with vervain and was to be worn at all times. "...so that, no matter what, you will know that your choices are always your own." her mother had written. Charlotte had sewn the locket onto her bracelet that same day and hadn't taken it off since. There were other things in the box as well, but she wouldn't say what.

Charlotte had also explained that the reason she recognized him on the road that night was because she had found two sketches in one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals. Folded over and over and slipped between the binding and the cover, Charlotte had only found them because she had dropped the book accidentally and when she bent to pick it up she saw the very tip of the paper sticking out. Unfolding them she found two young faces staring up at her, each labeled, _Stefan Salvatore, 1864_ and _Damon Salvatore, 1864_. And on the back of the sketch of Stefan was a warning to any future generations that might come across these brothers.

"There was just something in his eyes, even in the sketch," Charlotte was saying to Stefan now, "it was like, I know this sounds crazy, but it was like he understood." She shrugged.

"Understood what?" Stefan asked, clearly not getting it.

"Me," she said shaking her head. "That's when I went to the library and began researching your family, and it made sense." At Stefan's confused look she continued. "You're mother died when you were both very young, but Damon would have remembered her. And by all accounts, you were the favored son. I went back and read the Forbes journals after that too, and it was clear from what William wrote, you're father despised Damon. We had the same childhood."

"But that doesn't mean he won't kill you once he gets what he wants, Charlie, don't you see that?" Stefan was almost desperate. Damon chuckled to himself, there was no way Stefan would get her see things his way. If there was anything he had learned about Charlotte it was that she was nothing it not stubborn, once her mind was made up that was it, there was no going back. "There's something dark in him that you don't want to be a part of."

"That's just it Stefan, that's what I saw in his eyes in Jonathan Gilbert's sketch. Even as a human that darkness was there, and it matches the darkness inside me." She said, dropping his hand and turning to walk off the dance floor. It was true, Damon knew now, he saw the same thing in her eyes when they met, it was the reason he hadn't killed her then and there. It also the reason he hadn't killed her since, even though he'd thought about it a few times.


	5. Family Ties: Part 2

**AN:** Once again, I typed this super fast, so I'm sure there are quite a few mistakes, forgive me, I'll fix them later, promise. Review if you're feeling up to it. Enjoy!

* * *

"There's something dark in him that you don't want to be a part of."

"That's just it Stefan, that's what I saw in his eyes in Jonathan Gilbert's sketch. Even as a human that darkness was there, and it matches the darkness inside me." She said, dropping his hand and turning to walk off the dance floor. She had seen Damon and Elena the moment they walked into the tent and she knew he had been listening to her conversation with his brother. They both knew the connection between them was there, but it wasn't something that they had ever spoken out loud before. And Charlie didn't really feel like facing it right now either, so swiping a glass of champagne from a passing server, she hurried out from under the tent and back up toward the house. Her only mission right now was to get her hands on something stronger than champagne and find a quiet place to sequester herself for a while. It could not be said enough how awful these parties were.

* * *

Half an hour later Charlie was on her second scotch and was situated in a dark corner of the main hall behind a rather large house plant. Under normal circumstances she probably could have stayed there another twenty minutes are so without being seen, but she caught a glimpse of Carol Lockwood striding purposefully toward where she knew Elena was sitting with Bonnie. Knowing the look on Carol's face whatever she wanted from Elena was serious, so Charlie slipped out from her hiding spot and crept close enough to the doorway to hear what they were saying without looking like she was eavesdropping. Luckily, she had excellent hearing, no where near vampire hearing, of course, but better than the average human teenager, at least thats what the doctor had told her. Anyway, all she had to do was focus on Elena's voice and she could hear everything.

It took a minute, but as soon as she heard Carol ask about the Gilbert pocket watch Charlie knew something serious was up. Carol stood, signaling the end of the conversation and Charlie made a bee line for the nearest bathroom before the older woman took even a step in her direction.

Inside the the bathroom, she sunk back against the wall next to the sink and closed her eyes to think. The Gilbert watch was important, so important it had been pasted to the oldest son in every generation since Jonathan Gilbert. Passed down with all the various vampire knowledge and instruments Jonathan had collected. But for the life of her, Charlie couldn't remember what it was the watch was supposed to do. She had seen it once, when Uncle Grayson had it, and her mother had mentioned it in her letter. It was one of the reasons she had left Charlie all the things she had. Because the Gilbert sons were always bequeathed the vervain and Jonathan's inventions to keep them safe, but the daughters were left weaponless. Charlie's mother had seen to it that she was armed, and so was her daughter. But why the watch...

Charlie snapped her eyes open when the door beside her banged open and Caroline walked in and looked at her strangely. "I'm pretty sure Damon just stole something from the heritage exhibit. I told him not to touch anything, but he put something in his pocket and wouldn't let me see it." she complained. The information didn't surprise her, Damon had been adamant that he be at this party, but he wouldn't tell her exactly why.

"He's secretive, Caroline, don't expect me to know what he's up to. Maybe there was an old Salvatore family heirloom up there that was supposed to be his or something." Charlie shrugged.

"Hey," Elena said walking in, "why didn't anyone tell me the party was in here?" she joked.

"How are things with Stefan?" Caroline asked Elena turning her back and effectively shutting Charlie out of the conversation, which was fine with her. She closed her eyes again to block out Elena and Caroline so she could think. It was right about the time she realized that Elena and Caroline were about two seconds away from a scuffle that she remembered what the watch was really for. But the sight of Elena trying to take Caroline's scarf brought her back to the present.

"That is not nothing! Did somebody hurt you?" Elena asked full of concern.

"What? What is happening?" Charlie asked pushing into the conversation.

"She's got bruises and bite marks on her back and neck," Elena pointed. Charlie grabbed Caroline's arm and spun her to get a better look. She grabbed the scarf and ripped it off her cousin's neck despite her protests. "Who did this to you?" Elena asked.

"I-I can't, I don't know," Caroline sputtered. "He'll kill me..." she whispered after a moment.

"Damon," Charlie seethed, voice full of choked rage.

"What!" Elena nearly shouted. "Damon did this? What the hell are you doing hang out with him if he's doing stuff like this? Has he beaten you up too?"

Charlie gave Elena a dark look, "You know he hasn't, Elena, or he wouldn't be walking around still." She grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her to a stop before she could push out of the room. "Leave it, Elena."

"Oh, like you did, Charlotte?" Elena's voice dripped disdain, as she pulled herself free and stormed out of the room. Caroline was nearly in tears, trying to wrap her scarf back around her neck to hide the bite mark.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself for a minute? I have to go after her before she says something to get herself killed." Caroline nodded and Charlie was out the door and down the back steps in less than a minute, but she wasn't fast enough. From a distance she saw Damon's reaction to whatever Elena was saying him. Unconcealed fury stole across his features quickly before it was replaced by amused confusion and then Elena was pushing past him and down into the crowded tent.

Charlie took a deep breath to control her own emotions before Damon was standing over her with something that almost looked like concern on his face.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, a note of unchecked wariness in his voice. She knew confronting him about Caroline with this many people around was likely to result in a blood bath. She had to get him alone.

"They know," she whispered looking up into his eyes, "the council, _they know_." He did a quick sweep of the area around them with his eyes before grabbing her elbow and propelling her down the yard, and past the tent, not stopping until they were at least thirty yards from the party and standing alone in the dark recesses of the Lockwood backyard. Spinning her to face him, he released her.

"Are you sure?" He was confused as to why she was sharing this with him. If Elena knew what he did to Caroline then there was no way she didn't know too. Why warn him now, unless she had already raised the alarm and this was merely a distraction to allow the Sheriff enough time to gather the troops before coming after him.

"Yes, I overheard Carol asking Elena about a pocket watch that was supposed to be in the heritage exhibit. It was one of Jonathan Gilbert's invention." His face remained disturbingly clear so she continued. "There's a second piece to it, the watch face comes out and the other piece sits in its place and acts like a compass. But instead of pointing North it points to vampires."

"Mhmm," he hummed in response, unconvinced.

"Damon, it's what they used to round up the vampire the first time." That got his attention. He began pacing a circle around her.

"And Elena has this watch?"

"No, it's passed to the oldest son, most likely Jeremy has it, but the Gilbert's only have the watch part. The other piece is with one of the other founding families, without that the watch is useless."

"And, why exactly are you telling me this, when you know what happened with Caroline?" He asked stopping in front of her and grabbing her upper arms to hold her in place. Charlie sucked in a breath. It was there in her eyes, the flame of her anger, all he had to do was look, just like every other time he'd wanted to know what she was really thinking.

"To be fair, I don't really know what happened, all I saw was the result." she snapped at him. He hated to do this, really, he did. She had begun to grown on him, unfortunately, and when he realized that he was actually fond of her, he had rebelled against it immediately. Caroline had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't until afterward that he realized he could use her to plant doubt in Elena and Stefan's relationship. He had planned to use that to rationalize his actions should Charlotte find out, but he could see now, that would do little to calm her. And as the Sheriff was most likely on her way with a mob of angry villagers, he should probably end this right now. It wasn't as if Katherine would let him keep Charlotte anyway, now or later, the girl was dead either way, might as well do it now.

"Well, Charlotte, it's been fun, but I'm afraid this is where we part ways." He said as the veins around his eyes snaked darkly up over his cheekbones. She tilted her head to the right, looking for all the world like she was offering up a better target, and before he knew what she was doing she had reached up and pulled the sticks out of her hair and let it cascade down her back. He pulled back a fraction, confused at her actions for a moment and, before he could gather himself and go in for the kill, she stabbed both sticks as hard as she could into the side of his neck, right through his jugular vein.

He gave a surprised shout before letting go of her and dropping to the ground moaning. "What...the hell?" he mumbled confused.

She heard footsteps and looked up to see Stefan walking toward them. Crouching down next to him, she pulled her hair sticks from his neck and wiped them off in the grass.

"They were a gift from my mother," she told him, holding the sticks up in front of his face, not that he could see them, his eyes were closed and he was on the verge of passing out completely. "She steeped them in vervain. You should have known better then to hurt Caroline. She's my family, Damon. My family. You could have had anyone else in this town and I wouldn't have batted an eyelash." She looked up to see Stefan standing over them, but continued talking to Damon. "I didn't tell them, by the way, no one was coming after you, at least not tonight. You're my friend, whether you want to admit it or not, and despite everything, I'm not going to sell you out that easily." She patted him on the cheek, holding her hair sticks between her palm and his cheek for a second so that they burned him one last time. Then she stood up and turned to Stefan.

"How did you...?" Stefan asked confused.

"He was going to kill me, I defended myself. That's all you need to know." She explained calmly. "So, what are you going to do with him now?"

"I'll take him home and lock him up in the cellar for a while, until he desiccates and can't hurt anyone."

"Huh, so... vampire drunk tank basically."

"Basically."

Charlie had no plans to let Damon stay in the cellar long enough to desiccate, but a day or two wouldn't hurt, plus it would give her time to catch up on her school work and figure out a way to break him out.


	6. You're Undead To Me

**AN:** Ahh, I am so sorry this has taken so long to get out. I haven't forgotten you all, I promise, I've just been crazy busy getting ready for our community festival on Saturday and all my spare time has been eaten up. I'm sorry this is super short too, but I'm hoping to have more time once this weekend if over. Once again I typed this up super fast, so it's probably riddled with spelling errors, forgive me?

* * *

Charlie approached the open door of the boarding house cautiously, being sure to stay completely in the sun light. When she reached the threshold, she glance over her shoulder at her car. Her black, four door honda civic was parked as far from the house as possible without being in the street, Caroline safely locked in the front passenger seat.

She had been on her way to clear the air with Damon when she spotted Caroline running at a dead sprint down the side of the road. She pulled over and forced her cousin into the car. It took some time, but Caroline finally explained, in broken sentences, that she had found Damon in the basement and he had chased her out of the house. She was adamant that if they went back he would kill them both, but Charlie had promised to leave keys with Caroline so that if she felt threatened at all she could drive away and save herself.

And now here she was just inside the door, a dead and drained crow on the floor two feet from where she stood, still safely outlined in sunlight.

"Damon," she called carefully. "Caroline told me she let you out of the cellar, but you didn't chase her into the yard. Stefan has your ring doesn't he?" She could feel that he was close, but he hadn't materialized out of the shadows yet. "Seriously, get out here so I can talk to you, I'm unarmed, I promise!"

"Why don't you come a little farther into the house, and I promise we'll have a real nice chat." He came around the corner from the parlor looking like death itself.

"You look like hell," she said, shaking her head. "I brought a peace offering, if your willing to accept it." She held up the blood bag in her right hand and shook it a little. His face darkened and it was obvious he wanted to lunge at her. Instead he simply held out his hand with a slight growl. "On one condition," she said, pulling the blood back behind her slightly. His face only darkened further. "You have to promise to leave Caroline alone."

"Fine." He gritted out between his teeth. "Scouts honor."

"No, not good enough. Swear it, Damon, swear on Katherine's life you'll leave her alone."

"Fine!" He all but screamed at her, "Barbie's off limits, I get it. Can I have the blood now."

"One more thing," she said smirking at his irritation, "admit that we're friends."

"Are you serious right now? I'm wasting away over here, which is your fault by the way, and you're acting like a nine-year-old."

"You were going to kill me." She replied without emotion. "Do you want this or not?"

"Yes. Fine. We're friends. Are you happy now."

"Yes," and she was. She had won a small victory and he was pouting like a petulant child, this couldn't have been going any better.

He held out his hand again, expectantly and she tossed the blood bag to him. He popped the seal took in a mouthful, barely able to swallow before he moaned unabashedly. "Where...did you get this?" He questioned.

"It's mine," she shrugged, "have I never mentioned that I'm AB negative?" When his only response was to stare at her with an unreadable expression she continued. "It's not unusual for me to give blood regularly, since I'm such a rare blood type, so I went in this morning. I managed to distract the orderly in charge of taking the bags down to the blood bank and when he wasn't looking I grabbed the pint I had just donated. No one will miss it." He was drinking again, slowly, sitting on the floor in the front hall with his eyes closed and his head tilted back against the wall. Charlie leaned a shoulder against the door jam and watched him. "I was on my way over her to let you out of your cell when I found Caroline running down the street."

"Why?" He asked, the blood bad now empty and sitting forgotten on the floor beside him, "why were you going to let me out? I tried to kill you."

"We're friends, Damon," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I knew the risk I was taking that first night I met you, but I took it anyway. And I do it again if I was given the chance. I did what I had to to defend myself, but I never would have turned you in to the council, you should know that by now. And I wasn't going to let Stefan keep you locked up in here to desiccate."

"So," he said, changing the subject slightly, with a smirk, "those things you stabbed me with, you're mom gave them to you?" She nodded in response. "So you were expecting me to attack you? That's why you were wearing them?"

"No," she shook her head slightly, "you never know who's going to show up at those town events. I wear them whenever theres a chance that I might need them. Which is why I was wearing them when we first met. A high school party in the woods outside of Mystic Falls? That's like asking to be attacked."

"What would you have done if I had attacked someone else? You wouldn't have had the chance to stab me, I would have seen it coming from a distance."

"They're weighted for throwing," she smirked. "They're primarily supposed to be used as a distance weapon, but as you've seen, they can come in handy in close combat as well."

"What if something else had come out of the woods at the party that night? Something that wouldn't be affected by vervain." He couldn't believe this girl. She had been carrying weapons on her the entire time he had known her and he had had no idea.

"I had a knife in my boot." She answered, and laughed slightly at the look on his face. "I wasn't going to let Elena and Caroline go to a party in the woods at night and not have a weapon on me. I'm not stupid."

"Are you any good at throwing those things?" Damon asked with genuine curiosity.

"Deadly accurate." She full on smiled now, "You should play me in darts sometime."

"You are full of surprises, Charlotte, full of surprises." He murmured.


	7. Lost Girls

**AN:** Look, another chapter already! Damon and Charlie have been having this argument in my head all morning, so I managed to find time to type it out for you all. If it hasn't been clear so far, I'm trying to keep as close to cannon as possible while still making Charlie fit. I'll do my best to get at least one chapter per episode, but there may be one or two episodes that Charlie might just be too busy to fit into.

As always, no beta, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to leave a review if you feel up to it!

* * *

"Like you thanked Katherine?" She heard Elena ask as she pushed her way through the front door of the Gilbert house to find Elena and Damon staring each other down.

"What are you doing here?" She asked Damon, surprised to find him in her cousin's house. She thought for sure he'd be off draining someone right now.

"Looking for Stefan, what are you doing here?" Damon replied turing his attention on Charlie.

"Jeremy texted me and told what was going on - well, what _he_ thought was going on anyway. I put the pieces together and figured out the rest for myself." She paused looking back and forth between Damon and Elena and gauging the tension. "And seriously, Damon, Vicki Donovan? If I had known you were that bored I would have come over and made you help with the paper I was writing. 'The progression of American literature from 1850 to 1900'. Ugh." She finished and shuttered a little. Damon looked intrigued for a moment, but quickly moved back to his usual indifference.

"I did call you. You claimed you were too busy to be bothered with me today." He said with feigned hurt.

"You said you had found someone to entertain yourself with."

"And you said as long as I wasn't with a member of your family you didn't want to know anymore." This was slowly edging to a full blown argument. The volume being raised with each successive retort.

"That was when all I thought you were going to do was kill her. It's called plausible deniability, Damon." Charlie all but screamed at him. "I figured Liz would be organizing search parties in a few day and I didn't want to have to lie to her if she asked me if I had seen whoever it was you were 'entertaining' yourself with! I didn't know you were going to turn her. Vicki was erratic as a _human_, she's going to be a hundred times worse now and the council is already on high alert!"

"Wait," Elena broke in surprising both Charlie and Damon. They had completely forgotten she was there. "You know? You know what he is?" She asked looking incredulously at Charlie.

"Of course I know," Charlie said, waving her off, "I've always known."

"What? And you're still friends with him, even after what he's done to Vicki? To Caroline?" Elena was fuming.

"It may sound harsh, but I don't really give two shits about Vicki Donovan, though I wish he had simply killed her with the rest of her druggie friends. And the Caroline thing has been dealt with so leave it alone." Charlie's voice was cold as steel, it was clear this wasn't up for discussion.

"You can't be serious." Elena tried again.

"Leave it, Elena." Damon and Charlie spoke at the same time, in identically dangerous tones. Elena took step back trying not to show her sudden fear.

It wasn't until then that Damon noticed that Charlotte's hair was twisted up into a messy bun at the back of her head. "Did you come here for a fight?" He asked motioning to the bit of polished wood that was visible over the top of Charlie's head. "Are you that angry with me, princess?"

"No," Charlie answered him, fighting a smirk at the light teasing tone he had used. It seemed the fight was over as suddenly as it had started. "Jeremy said Vicki ran off and no one knew where she went. For all you know she's completed the transition and is on her way back here right now. I'm not leaving this house until I know Stefan's got her under control."

"But she can't come in without being invited, right?" Elena asked coming back into the conversation.

"Do you really think if she comes back here Jeremy's not going to invite her in?" Charlie asked skeptically before turning back to Damon, "You need to go find Stefan and help him get Vicki somewhere safe."

"I don't _need_ to do anything." Damon said, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her a look that clearly said he was daring her to prove him wrong.

"Yes, you do. The council got a hold of the Gilbert watch. The sheriff is out there right now with a team of deputies and a pocket full of wooden bullets. If they find Stefan, they'll come for you next." She said pointedly.

That got his attention; he blurred to the door without another word, but stopped before leaving fully. One hand on the door, he turned back to Charlie, "I can take a look at that paper when your done. You know, if you want."

"That'd be great," Charlie said exasperated, "now get out of here." He smirked, then left whistling something that sounded suspiciously like the Might Mouse theme song.

* * *

Charlie had been watching out the front window of the Gilbert house when Stefan came up the walk way, the front of his shirt torn and bloody. She and Elena met him on the porch.

"You're bleeding." Elena said, concerned.

"No, it's ok. It's ok. I'm ok." He reassured her.

"And Damon?" Charlie asked.

"He's fine. He went back to the boarding house."

"Any casualties?" With any luck Vicki caught a wooden bullet in the heart.

"Uh... yes," Stefan said carefully, looking only at Elena, "Logan Fell."

"Eh, what's one less Fell?" Charlie said, not surprised by the shocked looks on both Stefan and Elena's faces. "And Vicki?"

"I couldn't stop her. I tried." He said, once again concentrating solely on Elena.

"What does that mean?" Elena asked unsure.

"She fed and then I lost her." He sounded almost ashamed.

Charlie turned and quietly made her way back into the house. She wasn't going home with Vicki still running loose out there. Elena might be clued in to the true dangers of this town now, but she was a long way from being able to defender herself from it.


	8. Haunted

**AN:** I'm back again! I know, I'm surprised too. I apologize in advance for any mistakes. Leave a review if you're in the mood!

* * *

Charlie was occupying her favorite corner booth in the Grille, school books and paper spread out across the table in front of her when a shadow fell over her open Trig book. She knew it was Damon without having to look up from the problem she was working on.

"I could use your assistance with something. Two somethings actually, but the first is rather pressing." He said sliding on to the bench seat beside her.

"Shocking as it may seem, I don't know what Carol Lockwood likes in bed. Or have you moved on already and need my help finding another cougar to flirt with?" She asked casually, eyes never leaving the paper she was scribbling numbers across.

"Charlotte." His voice had gone quiet and serious as he reached over and closed her book. With one arm slung across the back of seat and the other holding her book shut, he had her boxed in.

"Damon," she sighed, "I really don't have time right now. I've gotta get this done and math really isn't my strong suite so its gonna take a while."

"Charlotte, Vicki attacked Elena and Jeremy." Her face whipped toward him and he saw something in her eyes that had never been there before. Fear. She was always so strong, so confident in herself, it was hard to imagine anything could put this look on her face. But even as he watched her close her eyes and shake herself slightly, it disappeared. "Stefan staked her before she could do any real damage. He took Jeremy home and left Elena at the school with Vicki's body."

"We need to get rid of the body. That's what you need my help with?" She asked even as she was shoving all her things into a messenger bag and pushing him to get out of the booth.

"Yeah, and you know, body disposal is always more enjoyable with two people."

"Of course," she said, rolling her eyes. "What was the other thing you needed my help with?"

"Ah, Bonnie has something of mine and I need it back." She gave him a questioning look as she pushed through the front doors of the Grille and headed for the passenger side of his car. "A necklace."

"That ugly thing she's been wearing the past few days? Good luck getting that back, I'm not going to be any help. There is no love lost between me and Bonnie Bennet." She said as she tossed her bag in the back seat. "How did she get it anyway?"

"It must have fallen out of my pocket when I was knocked out at the Founders Party." He gave her a look out of the corner of his eye, she had the decency to look slightly sheepish.

"Hey, you deserved it," she mumbled under her breath knowing full well that he could hear her as well as if she had shouted.

"Caroline had seen me take it out of the heritage exhibit so when she found it later she picked it up."

"And knowing it was yours she gave it to Bonnie because it was too ugly to keep, but she didn't want you to have it back. That sounds like Caroline." They pulled up behind the high school and parked a little to the right of all the buses.

"Stefan said he left Elena by the back door." Damon said, motioning for her to walk ahead of him.

Elena's crying is audible before they round the end of the first bus. She's sitting in a heap leaning over Vicki's ash grey body, but she looked up when she heard them approaching.

"You should go." Charlie immediately noticed the blood trickling down Elena's neck and seeping through the side of her white dress. "We got this."

"You did this." Elena accused, ignoring Charlie completely and scowling furiously at Damon. "This is your fault."

"You confuse me for someone with remorse." Damon replied, unaffected by her anger. Elena swung a hand out in a pitiful attempt at slapping him across the face, but he caught her arm and gave Charlie a pointed look before dropping it and taking a step back. "None of this matters to me. None of it."

"People die around you," Elena said fighting to keep her voice steady. "How could it not matter? It matters and you know it." Charlie is the one to stop her second attempt at slapping him. She caught Elena around the wrist and squeezed her slightly before letting go.

"Don't try that again." Charlie warned.

"How can you just stand by and watch? What the hell is wrong with you that you think this is all okay?" Elena seethed at Charlie. "You're just as much of a monster as he is."

"You need to leave." Damon said, addressing Elena but not taking his eyes off the side of Charlotte's face. "Your wounds are bleeding and you need to leave."

Neither of them moved again until the could no longer hear Elena's retreating footsteps.

"We should get out of here before someone sees us and starts asking questions." Charlie said shaking herself slightly and turning to face him.

"Are you alright?" He asked sounding genuinely concerned.

"Of course."

"Charlotte, there are only four people on this planet that you truly care about and one of them just called you a monster." He didn't know what, exactly he was expecting from her, but it certainly wasn't... this.

"Elena has always been quick to judge, especially things she doesn't understand, it comes from spending so much time with Bonnie. It may take a while, but she'll come around eventually." Charlie shrugged. "And it's five people actually, you forgot to count yourself."

That pleased him far more than it should. This relationship was becoming more complicated by the day. As it stood now, the moment he got that tomb open he was going to have to grab Katherine and run straight out of Mystic Falls. If Katherine thought that he felt anything more than indifference toward Charlotte... Well, he wasn't going to let that happen.

"Open the trunk," he said tossing Charlie the keys before he bent to pick Vicki up and slung her lifeless body over his shoulder. "What the hell is she wearing?"

"Its Halloween, Damon. She was a vampire." Charlie responded, laughing slightly.

"Ugh, she deserved to be staked."

* * *

"I just want him to forget everything that happened." Elena begged Stefan. Charlie and Damon were walking up to the Gilbert front porch, Stefan and Elena hadn't realized they were there.

"If I did it, theres no guarantee it would work... Because of who I am. Because of how I live." Stefan looked heartbroken, "I don't have the ability to do it right."

"I can do it." Damon offered as he and Charlie walked up onto the porch. Stefan and Elena turned at the sound of his voice, both looking surprised, whether at their sudden appearance or Damon's selfless offer, Charlie couldn't tell. She was too busy looking at Damon. He had made the offer to Elena, but he was looking at her. "If this is what you want..." Charlie nodded and Damon turned to Elena, "I'll do it."

Charlie missed most of what was said next, she was too busy watching the myriad of emotion run across Stefan's face. She snapped back to attention when Damon opened the front door.

"Don't look so confused, Stefan." Charlie said, stopping in the doorway, "The next time you want to know why I stick by him remember this. Its sad that his offer to help Jeremy surprises you when it doesn't surprise me at all." She shook her head at him a little before entering the house fully and closing the door behind her.


	9. 162 Candles

**AN:** Ok, so not only is this late, but it's not finished either... I know, I know, I'm terrible. I apologize, but I wanted to get something up because I've missed the past few weeks. It's super short at the moment, but I'm going to do my best to get the rest of this chapter up by friday. For now, enjoy what's here and leave a review if the feeling strikes you. Thanks!

* * *

"We're now looking at anyone new to town since the deaths began. Should turn up a suspect or two." Charlie stood just on the other side of the sheriff's closed office door, not eavesdropping exactly, just waiting for the right moment to walk in. She had only caught the tail end of the conversation, but she had heard enough to know that Damon was in there and that they were talking about the attacks. This seemed like as good a time as any to interrupt, so she let herself into the office unannounced smiling slightly at the shocked look on her aunt's face.

"Charlie," Liz said eyes flitting around the room nervously, "what are you doing here?"

"I brought you dinner," Charlie replied holding up a bag from the Grill. "I'm not interrupting anything am I? I didn't realize anyone was back here with you, no one stopped me when I walked past the front desk."

"It's fine, we were just finishing up." Damon assured her, drawing her eyes to him for the first time since she walked through the door.

"What are you doing here?" Charlie asked feigning confusion, she knew full well that he was dropping off vervain. "He's not hitting on you is he?" She asked the sheriff, "Cause you can't believe anything he says, he's an incorrigible flirt."

"No, of course not, Damon was just dropping off a package his uncle left for the council," Liz laughed nervously. Charlie knew it was mean, but her aunt was easily flustered when it came to the opposite sex and she just couldn't help herself.

"A package, right," Charlie said slowly, winking exaggeratedly at Liz.

"Did you finish your paper?" Liz asked through clenched teeth, pointedly changing the subject.

"I did," Charlie said resting a hip on the side of Damon's chair, "it still needs to be edited, but it's basically done."

"What subject was it today?" Damon asked.

"Italian," Charlie said turning to look down at him before shuffling around in the messenger bag slung over her shoulder and pulling out the paper. "Actually, I was hoping you'd proof read it for me. I was gonna stop by tomorrow morning, but since you're here now...Do you mind?" She asked holding it out to him.

"Sure, I'll look it over tonight." He shrugged and took the paper from her folding it in half and slipping inside his jacket.

"You speak Italian?" Liz asked him surprised.

"It was a requirement in my home growing up, Stefan and I are both pretty fluent." Damon explained standing from his seat. "I should get going."

"I'll walk out with you. Don't stay too late tonight, Sheriff, you've been working too much lately." Charlie said before slipping out the door, Damon right behind her.

* * *

"I'm just jealous of your restraint. I have none, I delight in hedonism. Speaking of which, what are we doing tonight?" The blonde vampire asked Stefan as Charlie and Damon walked into the room.

"Funny you should ask," Damon said butting into their conversation. "Charlotte just informed me that there's a party at the Grill. You'll love it. Banquettes, tacky wait staff. All of Stefan's friends."

"Yeah, I don't want a birthday party." Stefan said trying to derail that idea.

"It's not for you, it's just a party. Caroline's throwing it, no one even knows it's your birthday." Charlie informed him, doing her best to keep one eye on the blonde who was walking a slow circle around her. When the girl reached up and brushed Charlie's hair back over her shoulder it was a step too far. "Excuse me," Charlie said, taking a step back, "do they not teach personal space where you come from?"

"Charlotte, this is Lexi, Stefan's BFF," Damon introduced them, "and I believe she was trying to check you for bite marks." Charlie looked between Damon, Stefan and Lexi for a moment before rolling her eyes, reaching back with both hands to lift her hair up on top of her head and turning left and right to show off her exposed neck.

"Satisfied?" She asked, pushing up her sleeves and holding her arms out in front of her before turning them over. "I should go, thanks for your help with my paper." She said to Damon before turing to look at Stefan, "Come to the party or don't, I don't care either way. But you should know that the sheriff is still hunting vampires and she's starting to look harder at anyone new to town. You might want to start trying a little harder to blend in." She turned and let herself out.


End file.
